


Tides of Change

by Sexysexy_Warlock



Category: One Piece
Genre: Action/Adventure, Family, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, It's a Mystery! - Freeform, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-06
Updated: 2016-11-27
Packaged: 2018-08-29 09:42:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8484520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sexysexy_Warlock/pseuds/Sexysexy_Warlock
Summary: Freedom.
For as long as he could remember that had always been something held just beyond his grasp - but maybe this time it would be different.
Saved from a life of servitude by the notorious Fishman Pirates led by Arlong himself - Jett, along with a most unexpected companion are slowly gearing up for an adventure of a lifetime.
Follow them as they grow from reluctant acquaintances to fast friends - going on adventures the likes of which have never been seen.
But the question remains: will they find the freedom they are looking for or will they be forever chained?
Only time will tell.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Hello guys, I'm back again with another story - hopefully this time one that won't be forgotten about.
> 
> Anyway, this was written as a way to get me back into the swing of things.
> 
> This particular piece will be a slow build story - meaning that it will not just jump right into the action and adventure most common with One Piece fanfictions, and while it may start out with him as a younger child it will not stay that way forever - just enough to get the story flowing and set up for what I have planned. It will also, I hope, be a bit more serious than the anime typically is, though it will still be humorous and full of adventure.
> 
> This story is, as you may have guessed, going to revolve round an original character and will follow his journey alongside his friends. Of course, while this is still an OC story it will tie into the anime and yes, he's probably going to join the Strawhat Pirates.
> 
> Basically this is just written for fun and while the summary is not the best I hope you will give this story a fair chance and that you will enjoy it.
> 
> Reviews and constructive criticism is always welcome, I'm always looking to improve.
> 
> I will also be posting this to both Wattpad and Fanfic.net so if you see it there please don't freak out.
> 
> This story is Unedited so I apologize for any spelling errors within.
> 
> Thank you.
> 
>  
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or any affiliated characters - I only own my character.

** Prologue**

* * *

 

 

**A few years earlier…**

 

The ship emerged from the pre-dawn mist like a wraith upon the calm waters.

With its unmarked sails furled and securely tied off, a safety precaution to keep the morning breeze from catching and pulling them forward, the ship cut across the calm ocean waves by the sole power of four oars - each one handled by a single oarsman; they were the best of the best, trained to keep the sleek cargo vessel moving forward all while maintaining the silence needed to stay unnoticed.

The men aboard knew exactly what they were doing - they knew how to keep the oars just a scant few inches above the water at the end of each powerful stroke, moving them in a way that limited any noise as they were lowered back down into the churning waves, propelling the ship further towards the empty beach with each passing moment.

Stealth was an absolute necessity when approaching an enemy coastline - and when your line of work was slavery, well, every coast was an enemy coast.

But they needn’t have worried - such was the skill of the oarsmen that the loudest noise in the budding silence was the steady lapping of the waves against the side of the ship, a noise that could be passed off as nothing more than driftwood in the surf.

It was nothing to worry about.

Slowly the ship drew closer to the shoreline - gliding forward inch by inch under the practiced care of the sailors.

Upon the deck, situated near the prow of the ship and nestled in the shadows, were two men armed to the teeth - one was a burly man with rippling muscle and a canvas of scars littering the expanse of his exposed chest and arms.

At a glance he looked to be in his late forties; he was tall, standing well over six feet. With beady black eyes dark as coal, and a knotted mess of tangled hair the colour of ash. His face was chiselled and covered in stubble, an ugly scar running across the bridge of his nose marred his face, while another equally jagged scar cut down across his neck at an odd angle - an everlasting reminder of some poor bastards failed attempt to end his life.

The second figure was younger man, probably no older than thirty years of age. He stood a good head and a half shorter than his companion - his eyes were the colour of the sea, an almost eerie shade of blue, and looked to be as sharp as a birds. His hair was the colour of sand and braided into a single ponytail that hung down over his left shoulder.

He was not as burly as his companion - his frame was lean and built for speed rather than raw power, yet despite his lithe frame and deceptively easygoing smile, he still managed to maintain an air around himself that seemed to scream: _don't fuck with me._

Not surprising really - considering who these men were it was no shock that they were exuding an aura of pure danger.

They were the second and third most dangerous people aboard the ship, the captain's most trusted followers and his closest confidants - they were his first mate and intelligence officer.

With the beach fast approaching and their mission soon to be underway, the shorter of the two men turned his attention to the dark waters below.

“Are you certain this course is wise?” The blonde asked, his tone was light and almost mocking as he gazed upon the water with narrowed eyes; always attentive to their surroundings.

The man beside him grunted, yet didn't bother to reply, merely rolling his massive shoulders and hefting the large battle axe higher so he might get a better grip.

The blonde rolled his eyes.

“Charming as ever I see.” He grumbled under his breath, leaving the rather one-sided conversation in order to cast a look down the ship to where the captain stood at the helm, one hand resting upon the oak wood wheel as he steered the ship towards their destination.

Giving one short, sharp, whistle to gain the attention of his captain the blonde slowly raised a hand showing five fingers - he lowered one, and then another, and then another after that.

Once the silent countdown had reached zero the captain spoke, his gaze never once leaving the other man's clenched fist.

“Raise the oars.”

A simple command - but one they all knew well.

It would not be long now, a few more minutes at the most and then they would be on their way to collect their newest _cargo._

Some might say that dealing in the trade of human flesh may have been a deplorable and dishonourable line of work - perhaps they were right, maybe it was a cruel practice, but then again if there were no slaves and servants how would the nobles ever survive?

After all, it was men like that who all but demanded the continuation of the trade - and unsurprisingly it was also those same men and women who kept the business booming, even hundreds of years later when slavery was all but outlawed.

So it was a hidden line of work - an under the table kind of deal. Neither of which bothered the men onboard all that much. So long as they got paid, and they could have a little fun from time to time, the men were happy to ignore everything else.

They were all former pirates after all - why should they care what the world government banned, or rather, what they failed to ban.

 _How ironic. I do wonder though, what would happen if word spread that the nobles were trading in slavery._ The blonde thought to himself with a lazy smirk, scratching at his chin with faint amusement.

Nothing good would come of it he knew - but the option to turn the world against the highborn classes was always on his mind at times such as these.

Besides, it wouldn't be the first time he'd used that knowledge and a threat of exposure to gain a few favors among the nobles.

It was just business after all.

A tap on his shoulder brought the intelligence officer from his musings and soon enough he was focused back on the present - it was a good thing too, because by the looks of it they were just about ready to kick things off.

With the oars stopped and the men ready for action it was only a short wait before the prow of the ship met soft sand. Sven, the blonde haired man, felt the vibrations from the soft impact through the soles of his leather boots as they travelled up his legs.

With a flick of his wrist Sven motioned for two of his men to follow him as he vaulted over the railing and landed, with a cat-like grace, upon the wet sand below.

As one the three of them moved forward, his men fanning out to the left and right while he himself headed forward towards the treeline - it was their job to scout the area; to locate any unwanted witnesses and silence them before the alarm was raised and they were forced to fight or in some rare cases, flee.

He picked his way carefully across the sandy beach, moving like a shadow in the dim light of the early hours until he was a few paces within the treeline - there he waited, eyes scouring the forest with an intense focus as he prowled silently through the trees.

Back and forth his gaze flickered, latching onto any hint of movement or sound until he was sure that there was no one around to witness what would come next.

Satisfied he turned and strode back across the beach, an easy smile upon his face as he sidled up next to the burly form of their first mate; Barkus - who was busy securing the ship so that it would not unintentionally float away.

That had happened to them once before, way back when they had just started out in the business - the captain had _not_ been pleased about it.

Relaying his report of the surrounding area back to the captain, he then turned his attention to his men and gave them a look they knew well.

“I want you both to keep an eye out for any unwanted eyes.” He told them, his tone firm and serious. “Take them out quietly if you think you can manage it, but make sure they _do not_ get aboard the ship. Understood?”

“Aye!” came the instant reply and without further instructions the two men split off from the main group and headed out into the surrounding forest.

They knew what to do.

With that done Sven turned his attention back to the captain, who had just landed on the sand to his right and was now busy dusting his pants off to be rid of any lingering grains of sand - a useless endeavour in Sven's opinion, considering where they were, but that was just how their captain was; looks were everything to him after all.

“Are we ready?” The captain asked and Sven gave a nod of his head.

“Yes sir. We're ready to get under way on your orders, captain.” He replied, his right hand drifting down to finger the hilt of his sword, a hint of eagerness entering his tone as he awaited the order.

The captain turned to look at his crew, a lazy smirk curling his lips as he took in their eager expressions. It was always like this, every time they landed and were about to embark - his crew always resembled the look of a child in a candy store, and perhaps it would have been amusing if one could ignore the bloodthirsty grins upon their faces and the way they clutched at their weapons.

It would be a bloodbath - this he knew without a shadow of a doubt. But that was neither here nor there, they were on a schedule and it would not do to be late.

“You know your orders,” he began, his voice carrying in the silence. There was no need to be quiet anymore, they were alone on the beach. “We're here to acquire more stock, so don't get too carried away. We need them alive and kicking, but feel free to give them a few licks if they misbehave.”

That last comment got a round of malicious laughter from the crew, some even going so far as to lick their lips in anticipation of the coming fight.

It was at this point that the captain motioned for Sven to step forward. The blonde did so without a word, looking over the gathered men before he spoke - a warning.

“Keep in mind that these are no ordinary people we're dealing with today. These are Fishmen, they're stronger than the average human so don't be careless, and as you may have already guessed, they have a natural affinity for water - do not let them get you near a body of water, and for the love of god, _do not_ let them into the water.” He told them, his tone leaving no room for argument. “Our main targets are the women and children, the men will be our main adversaries here, I don't expect them to come quietly, so keep your eyes open and don't lose focus. They might be a simple fishing village but they're not completely defenceless - remember that.”

With a nod to his captain Sven stepped back and took his place beside Barkus, the lumbering man standing like a statue behind the captain, who had finished their briefing and was now splitting the crew into three groups.

With their orders clear and their objective ahead - they readied their weapons and moved out.

 

xxXXxx

 

It was some time later, when the dark sky had begun to lighten from dusk to dawn and the covering mist began to fade, that the slave traders crested the small hill that overlooked the peaceful little beach side village. 

The village was a relatively small place compared to most - it was a fishing village through and through.

Nestled on the bank of a small cove, hidden away from plain sight by the rocky shoreline that surrounded it on both sides in the shape of a crescent moon, with the treeline and surrounding forests guarding the rear - it was a natural defence and the village had been built to take full advantage of this fact.

The village itself was built upon a multitude of weather worn, yet sturdy, walkways and raised platforms; the buildings, built from simple wood gathered from around the island, were clumped together in a haphazard yet decidedly neat fashion.

It was a quaint little place Sven decided as he gazed down that the sleeping town, his blue eyes sweeping across the horizon in search of any sign of movement below - it would do them no good to have their approach spotted too early, they needed to remain unseen until they were right on top of the unaware villagers.

Movement to his left had the blonde turning his attention to the captain who had moved up to kneel beside him, hidden from view behind the small rock formation they were currently using for cover.

“Time to go?” Sven asked, his tone light and conversational as though speaking about the weather.

The captain, Corric was his name, gave a nod of his head and silently raised a hand up to signal the waiting men who gathered behind them.

It was time to attack.

As the captain turned his calculating gaze from the unprotected village, shifting to rest his upon his eager crew, he began signalling the men to fan out and approach the village.

For his part, Sven stayed bedside his captain and awaited further instructions - he knew what needed to be done, but it was best to make sure there would be no change of plans before heading down.

Of course he needn't have worried.

Corric was a rather straightforward sort of man and he didn't often bother with fancy tactics or strategies. The reason for this was simple because as far as he was concerned - if it worked then don't change it; meaning that they had a system, and it worked well for them, so there was no point in changing it and risk failure.

If there was one thing Sven had come to understand in all his years working under the captain, it was that the man did not tolerate failure - at all.

In some ways Sven found that the captain was something of a perfectionist, and perhaps the reason for it could be chalked up to his captain's upbringing, but the blonde didn't question it, he didn't care why Corric did what he did - he was in this for the money same as everyone else.

Details like that didn't matter.

Shaken from his inner musings the blonde haired male refocused upon the matter at hand and with one last cocky grin directed at his captain, Sven hefted his sword into his grip and stood up.

“Move in.” Corric grunted, shifting to his feet and claimed the sword at his hip with an eager expression upon his cleanly shaven face.

“Happy hunting, captain.” Sven quipped, giving a lazy two-finger salute before he moved off to the side and silently broke away from the main force, signalling to the smaller group of men under his command as he went, before they slipped from the ridge and descend upon the village.

 

xxXXxx

  

Two and a half hours later the once peaceful village was in shambles.

Thrust into the depths of chaos as the slavers laid it to waste without a single care - dark smoke could be seen, rising up in thick plumes to block out the rising sun, all the while orange flickers of burning fire licked at the broken ruins of the buildings.

It was carnage.

The townsfolk were in a panic - the dead and dying littered the walkways; the bodies of men and women, even a few children, who were unlucky enough to be caught in the crossfire were strewn about.

Blood bathed the town - running freely through the cracks in the splintered, broken, planks and seeping into the smouldering wood, staining the waters below with a crimson touch.

Amidst the destruction were the dwindling sounds of battle; the echoing clash of steel upon steel, a last ditch effort launched by the few able bodied men and women still alive and free.

The battle was almost over however - the men and women of this small village were not trained for action like the merciless slavers they faced, and while their attempts to fight back were admirable, in the end it was a wasted endeavour.

For his part in the raid Corric had made good upon leading the main force to capture and subdue the freakish creatures - a task that was met, at first, with open hostility until he cut the opposition down without a second thought.

Now, with most of his men going through the town and systematically mopping up what was left if the stragglers under the careful eye of his first mate Barkus, the captain found that he was now free to loot the small town of all items with even a speck of value.

The town did not have much in the way of gold or other precious gems however, which was always a pity in his opinion, but they did have a few other items that Corric was sure would fetch a good price on the markets.

So he collected them, being careful not to break them, and sent the back to the ship to be sorted and stored away until they reached the East Blue again and he could pawn them off for a good price.

The whole endeavour took no more than perhaps half an hour, the village was honestly not that large and they lacked anything of real worth - but Corric would make do with what he had managed to find, he always did.

With the living cargo bound in chains, and the supplies looted from the villages stock, Corric felt that it was time to set sail back to more familiar waters - their work was done after all.

So he turned to leave, giving the call to his men that it was time to depart.

**_Rustle…_ **

Corric paused in his trek through the now smouldering village, head cocked to one side as he strained his ears to listen for--

**_Rustle, rustle…_ **

Ah, there it was again.

Moving forward on silent feet the captain picked his way through the wreckage of a nearby destroyed home, edging his way towards the source of the noise before crouching down to wait - posed like a cat ready to pounce.

He didn't wait long before the noise sounded again off to his right, closely followed by the sound of a muffled cough.

Corric felt the beginnings of a smirk tug at the corner of his lips - though the expression upon his face however was anything but kind.

 _It would seem they missed a straggler._ He mused to himself in dark amusement, reaching down to his boot and gripping the handle of a small knife - a precaution, just in case the hidden wretch decided to fight back.

The captain needn't have worried about a possible attack though - for when he kicked the smoldering plank of wood from atop the pile of rubble, he was met with the sight of a small child fumbling around in the ashes of what was probably his home.

Snorting in disdain at the tiny creature huddled on the ground before him, Corric sheathed his weapon and strode forward. He took some amount of sadistic glee upon watching the small child, a boy probably no older than four years old, shuffle backwards with a terrified growl - trying to seem more threatening than he really was, the captain assumed.

It was laughable.

As amusing as it was to watch the tiny child hiss and growl at him, Corric didn't have time to waste playing around - they were on a schedule and it was going to take them a good few months to reach the East Blue from where they were now, so they needed to be on their way, and soon.

So he moved forward, reaching out a hand as he did and made to grab the boy. This of course caused an instant reaction in the child and before he knew it Corric was jerking back with a curse - the brat had bit him!

“You cheeky brat.” He grunted, staring down at the red droplets of blood that welled up in the new wound on his hand with a mixture of annoyance and grudging approval - because at least the kid had guts.

But that wouldn't save the small child from the fate that awaited him, nothing short of a miracle would, and Corric was quickly running out of patience.

So the large man did what he usually did when dealing with unruly captives - he brought his leg back and then sent the sole of his leather boot straight into the child's face.

The reaction was instant - the child let out a shrill yelp before his eyes rolled back and he went limp.

The boy dropped to the floor in an unmoving heap; the grip he had upon a worn, and obviously well loved, stuffed shark loosened until the toy flopped onto the ground beside the unconscious boy.

Corric didn't bother checking to see if the kid was still breathing and instead the captain reached out to grab the child - he then turned and began the trek back to the ship, the limp form held under his arm.

Fifteen minutes later and Corric had arrived back on the beach where the ship was anchored.

He watched for a moment as his crew moved about - herding the former occupants of the village up the platform and onto the ship; they would be taken below deck and chained until they regrouped with the main fleet, where they would then be moved to the holding cells until they reached port.

Striding forward the captain gave a nod in greeting to his first mate. Without a word Corric threw the limp form to the burly man, a silent order to place the child with the rest of the cargo, before continuing his way up onto the ship.

“Alright men, let's push off - I want to be out of here before the authorities catch wind of what happened.” He barked, his voice carrying over the noise of his crew.

“Aye, captain!”

With that the crew hurried to finish their preparations; storing the acquired goods they had liberated from the villagers, and making sure their _guests_ were secured below deck.

That done they were finally able to shove off from the shoreline with the help of the growing tide - using the slowly rising waters to their advantage, and soon enough they were well at sea, leaving the island behind without a backwards glance.


	2. Chapter 1

**_Chapter 1_ **

* * *

 

 

**_Present time…_ **

 

The _Empress_ was only a few short days away from the nearest island when a terrible storm hit them.

They had been out at sea for a little under two and a half weeks now, sailing further south along the crystal waters of the East Blue, upon seas that were almost as still as the Calm Belt itself - a fact that all aboard the _Empress_ appreciated immensely.

Aboard the ship there stood a man, an elder gentleman from the higher classes of society, who had just finished up some delicate business with the Celestial Dragons - a trade of sorts, in which he had acquired a few new hands to work the decks, as well as a rather exotic gift for his grandsons upcoming birthday.

Despite how uneasy doing business with the Celestial Dragons often made him, the man was glad to be done with it and found himself eager to be headed home.

_Why they constantly choose to meet so far out to sea I will never understand._ He groused to himself as he tapped the ash from his cigarette before taking a long drag.

Of course he could understand, even if he didn't particularly appreciate being forced to sail so far, the necessity of discretion - slavery was, after all, thought to be outlawed by the World Government more than two hundred years ago.

_If only they knew._ He snorted, and then found himself chuckling with the knowledge that they probably _did_ know, but were paid a hefty sum to look the other way - just like they did with so many other thing really. Shaking his head as he released a long puff of smoke from between his chapped lips, the gentleman turned his weary gaze toward the distant horizon.

Immediately he felt a frown pulling at the corner of his lips, gaze locking onto the troubling sight looming in the distance - it seemed that their good luck with the weather was coming to an abrupt end.

For upon the horizon dark storm clouds were plainly visible rolling high above; the smell of rain hanging thick in the air, accompanied by growing waves that rocked against the sides of the ship.

There was no question about it - a storm was brewing.

Flicking the last remains of his cigarette into the churning waves, the noble turned from the oncoming storm and moved away from the railing, walking across the deck with purposeful strides.

He made his way swiftly across the main deck and over to the captain, who stood at the helm behind the wheel - steering the ship through the growing waves.

"Captain, how far are we from the nearest port?" He asked, his tone holding a note of concern as he shifted his focus from the captain to the dark clouds - it was easy enough to see that this man was not an experienced sailor.

The man was a noble through and through - a pampered highblood used to things going smoothly.

The captain, a dark skinned man of about twenty-six years, cast a fleeting glance to the worried noble - idly he wondered if he could get away without a reply, but thought better of it.

Casting a thoughtful glance to the foreboding storm front directly ahead of them, the young captain mulled the question over for a few moments - trying to calculate the distance between them and the nearest island.

He was certainly by no means a practiced navigator - but he spent enough time on these waters to hazard a guess.

"About a day or two at the most I reckon, maybe two an' a half?" He finally replied, a thick accent coating his words as he scratched his chin.

The noble did not look comforted by this news at all, but then again it wasn't his job to be comforting - he was paid to sail the ship, and that's what he'd do.

Of course the nobleman had to ask. "Is there any way we could avoid the storm?"

"No, not unless ye want to turn the ship around and head back the way we came." was the reply. Though, even if they were to turn around now there was no guarantee they would be able to outrun the storm.

He didn't tell the nobleman that though.

Running a hand through his hair, the nobleman heaved a slightly shaky breath before focusing back on the matter at hand. He would not lie, being caught in a storm while at sea was something he was not comfortable with in the least - he was not a sailor, never would be, and the endless possibilities of what could happen were setting him on edge.

But there was nothing he could actually do about it - he was not powerful enough to battle against mother nature and win.

"Can you guide the ship through?" He sighed, accepting that there was no way to avoid the coming storm.

Thinking it over the captain shrugged. "Maybe, depends how bad the weather gets. Your little pleasure ship isn't built for rough weather, if things get bad we may have to abandon it." He told the old man, not sounding worried in the least.

That admittance didn't fill the nobleman with confidence but there was no helping it - whatever happened would happen, all he could do was pray for the best and hope they made it out unscathed.

He didn't want to lose his ship, or the items aboard - they had cost him a pretty penny after all and he was reluctant to let any of it go to waste because of a storm.

"Do what you can then my good man, I'm going to head below and make sure my things are properly secured." He said, giving one last look at the horizon before turning to head below deck.

The captain watched him go with an unreadable expression, waiting until the old man was well out of sight and the door heading below deck was firmly shut, before he rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the churning sea.

"Bloody nobles." He muttered, shaking his head before turning his gaze to the men on deck - swiftly he began relaying orders to secure the sails, and man the lines, because from the looks of it they were going to be in for a very bumpy ride.

 

xxXXxx

 

A few miles away the storm was already in full bloom - and within it, a single ship sailed.

"Looks like this'll be a bad one!" A figure called out over the roar of the wind - he could be seen struggling with a thick rope, attempting to tug it into place, arms straining against the line for a moment before another pair of hands joined in and together they tied it off.

Turning to flash a look of gratitude, the odd looking man with oversized lips and dirty blonde hair, then shifted his focus onto the crashing waves that rocked the ship before hurrying off to lend help wherever it was needed.

The man who had helped him, another strange looking individual with what appeared to be fins protruding from his elbows, merely inclined his head before he too moved away - wiping water from his eyes as he headed towards the helm.

He moved swiftly, navigating across the uneven rocking of the deck with practiced ease until he was climbing the short staircase that led up to the helm - where the captain was currently steering the ship through the dangerous waters.

"Orders, captain?" The finned man asked, his voice even and unconcerned even amidst the thundering rain.

The captain was a large man - with broad shoulders, and standing well over seven feet tall, with a muscled frame. A narrow face, with dark hair and a cunning look in his equally dark eyes.

He was a fearsome man by any right, yet what stood out most about this man was the unique features he sported - for instance, his nose was long and razor sharp resembling that of a swordfish, he sported fish-like gills upon his neck, and even had a dorsal fin protruding from between his shoulder blades.

His name was Arlong - leader of the Fishman Pirates and newly dubbed menace of the East Blue.

Tearing his inky black gaze away from the raging waters and focusing in on his long time friend, Arlong couldn't help but flash the other a grin - it was a wicked, almost maniacal, smile full of razor sharp teeth.

"Full speed ahead." He ordered, an excited glint in his eyes as he spun the wheel under his hands, maneuvering the large _galleon_ until it was racing along with wind.

Nodding his head in acceptance of his captains order the other fishman, a stingray class fishman named Kuroobi, turned to relay the order to the rest of the crew - he was accosted however when yet another of the crew came running over, arms waving in the direction off to the right.

"Ship spotted off the starboard side!"

Kuroobi turned his gaze toward the aforementioned location and stared hard through the pouring rain for a few brief moments, eyes straining until he finally made out the small form of a ship battling through the waves a few hundred meters away.

He turned his attention back to Arlong and waited - he knew that a new order was sure to come once his captain learned of this new development.

As it turned out his assumption was correct and he was not disappointed, for as soon as the news was relayed to the captain the ship had already begun to tilt towards the right - a sure sign that they would be investigating the smaller vessel.

Wasting no more time Kuroobi moved towards the railing that overlooked the main deck and began barking a series of quick orders at the bustling crew - it would seem that they were going to be doing a bit of pirating, good, it had been a few weeks since they'd last had a bit of fun.

With the crew working tirelessly to man the sails and keep everything in check, and with the strong winds at their backs, the large _galleon_ was soon moving across the perilous waves at a steady speed.

 

xxXXxx

 

Back aboard the _Empress_ things were not looking good.

The storm had hit them hard, harder than any of them were expecting, and it was only due to the captains experience and sheer will that they were still afloat.

Upon the deck of the small vessel the crew scrambled about in a frantic dance - they could be seen darting back and forth across the slippery deck, clambering across the rigging as they fought against turbulent winds to keep the sail in check, and at times they could even be seen just holding on for dear life as massive waves struck the sides of the ship.

It was utter chaos.

Yet through it all the captain stayed firm and resolute in his course - he barked order upon order to his men, even as his voice was plucked away by the wind, and it was only luck and years of experience that kept the _Empress_ from falling victim to the turbulent storm.

Amidst the chaos stood their client - the gray haired noble dressed in the finest clothes. He was drenched to the bone, his hair plastered against his weathered face, as he clung tight to the railing of the upper deck.

"Captain!" He yelled, his voice could barely be heard above the raging winds and crashing waves, but somehow it carried across the few meters between them.

"Sir, I must ask you to go back below deck - it's not safe to be up here!" The dark skinned man yelled, his tone held no real concern for the noble standing behind him - there was no reason to after all, he was only doing what he had been paid to do and as such he held no real loyalty to the pompous man aside from the promised gold at the end of their voyage.

After all, anyone who had a hand in slavery was no better than scum in his eyes - and had he known what the old man was doing before he took the contract, he would undoubtedly have declined the offer, no matter how good the offer may have been.

Many of his crew, as well as he himself, had once been former slaves of the Celestial Dragons - but that was many years ago, back before they had been set free and took up the role of mercenaries for hire.

It was not the kind of life he would wish upon anyone - no matter how much he might have hated them.

But a contract was a contract and he had never gone back in his word before, and he wasn't about to start now.

The captain was shaken from his dark thoughts as a massive wave crashed against the deck of the ship - icy water spraying up as it washed over the deck, frantic cries from the crew sounded as they scrabbled for purchase on the slippery deck, it was a miracle that no one was washed overboard.

Before they could fully recover from the first wave, another even bigger than the last, came crashing down upon the _Empress_ \- gallons of water crashed down upon the deck of the ship, pushing it down into the surf, the wind catching the unmanned sails until the entire ship was tilted to one side.

Screams of fear rang out, the crew clutching onto anything within arms reach to keep from being flung overboard, as the ship rolled dangerously to one side before the wave of water passed over them and the ship righted itself - snapping back into place like a rubber band.

With the immediate danger passed and the ship now right side up, the crew sprung into action - gripping the lines and pulling the wildly flapping sails under control once again.

They were all so busy trying to keep the sails under control that no one even noticed the large _galleon_ headed right for them - not until it was right upon them anyway.

" _Ship!_ "

No one knew who shouted the warning and really, no one cared - all that mattered was that there was a potential enemy ship bearing down upon them and there was nothing they could do about it.

Having been alerted to the approaching ship coming up on their left, the captain spared it a brief glance while he fought to maintain their heading.

It was a large ship - far larger than the _Empress_ as it seemed to dwarf the smaller vessel.

But that wasn't what drew his attention, he had seen many large ships in his time at sea after all, no, it was the piece of fabric flapping about atop the mainmast that really got his attention.

It was a _Jolly Rodger_ he realized belatedly with a growing sense of unease - that was the mark and pride of a pirate.

This ship was a _pirate_ ship.

"Son of a bitch!" He cursed beneath his breath, eyes narrowing as he spun the wheel beneath his hands and turned the _Empress_ into the wind.

"Captain! What on earth do you think are you doing - you're going the wrong way!" Came the disbelieving yell of the nobleman as he clung to the railing, looking more pale than the captain had ever seen.

Not even bothering to spare the sniveling nobleman a glance, he spun the wheel and shouted out to the crew to unfurl the sails and ready their weapons - because if things went south, which they undoubtedly would, then they may very well be fired to fight for their lives against a crew of pirates.

"Hurry men!" He yelled, his voice carrying over the wind as he eyed the approaching _galleon_ with wary eyes. "Unfurl those sails, we're going to try and outrun them!"

It was a risky move - trying to outrun a pirate ship on a good day was hard enough, but trying to outrun a pirate ship during a _storm_ was just plain ridiculous.

But they had no choice in the matter - if they stayed where they were the other ship would catch up to them and they would no doubt be forced to fight, yet if they tried to run there was a chance that the storm would cause them to capsize, in which case they would be dead anyway.

There wasn't much of a choice to begin with really, but a small chance was better than no chance at all - so the captain turned the ship in a full 180 degree turn, putting them directly in front of the enemy ship but also putting them directly in the path of the wind.

The result was instantaneous - with the sails unfurled and the ship positioned just so, the wind all but swept them up and sent them rocketing forward across the water at a ridiculous speed.

Unfortunately the _galleon_ was right behind them using the same tactics they had - and while the _Empress_ may have been smaller and thus much swifter than the hulking vessel behind them, it also meant that it was more susceptible to the rough winds and unforgiving waters.

The chase went on like that for nearly an hour and a half - the _Empress_ running and dodging from the larger vessel, while the pirates gave chase.

Unfortunately, despite the lead that they gained by using the storm as a boost, the pirates were gaining on them just as quickly with every passing moment - and it was clear now that outrunning them would not be an option for much longer, the _Empress_ wouldn't survive the harsh conditions.

Even so, the captain tried to implement a few evasive maneuvers in a last ditch effort to dissuade the pirates from following them - it worked for a few minutes but the harsh waves and winds made maneuvering through the storm difficult.

Thus it was with a growing sense of dread that the dark skinned man turned to his anxiously waiting crew and gave them what would probably be their last order.

"Ready weapons."

 

xxXXxx

 

The battle between the crew of the _Empress_ and the hulking form of the pirates _galleon_ was short and bloody.

Despite their best efforts the mercenaries were just no match for the superior strength and ruthlessness of the Fishman Pirates - and so within the span of about forty long and grueling minutes, the pirates had dispatched most of the crew aboard the small vessel.

Now with the fighting force of the _Empress_ either dead or subdued, Arlong himself stood upon the bloodstained deck of the small vessel with a wide smile adorning his face, his own crew milling about as the began poking around the small ship for anything of worth.

Turning his gaze from the carnage laid out before him, Arlong moved across the rocking deck and over to the huddled form of a well dressed human - who he guessed was the probable leader of this worthless scrap of driftwood.

Stopping before the obviously terrified man currently sniveling at his feet, Arlong felt his grin widen as he watched the human squirm under the weight of his gaze.

It was always nice to show the humans their rightful place beneath his boot - after all, it wouldn't do for them to go getting big heads and start thinking they were the superior race in these seas.

According to him, the only superior race was his and he would do just about anything to enforce that fact - in fact, that was one of the reasons he was in this part of the ocean anyway; to begin the first stages of his plans for Fishmen to rise up and take their rightful place as the leaders of these seas.

But that was a tale for a different time - right now he had bigger problems, like a rather frantic and oddly angry Hatchan, who was just coming back up from below deck with something clutched in his secondary set of arms.

Curious as to what could have possibly upset the usually easygoing octopus fishman so badly, Arlong made his way over to the simmering male and peeked over his shoulder to see just what it was he was holding.

What he saw cradled gently within Hatchan's arms made Arlong freeze in unbridled fury, his expression morphing from mild curiosity to rage in little under a second.

It was a child - a _Fishman_ child.

Eyes narrowed in cold fury Arlong spun away and stomped back to the cowering human with an almost murderous expression etched upon his features.

He reached down, gripping the front of the human nobles coat, and hauled him up into the air until they were eye level.

"How _dare_ you." He hissed, voice barely above a whisper as his lip pulled back; teeth bared in a ferocious snarl.

The human for his part began to blubber in fear but Arlong merely have him a firm shake to shut him up as he turned to point at the unconscious child still held within Hatchan's arms.

"You filthy human, you _dare_ to enslave my kinsmen?" He demanded, having already seen the familiar brand upon the young child's bare chest; tattooed into light blue-gray skin above his heart.

The nobleman stuttered and sobbed, fear radiating off of him in waves as he fumbled for an excuse - something, _anything_ , to get the terrifying form of Arlong away from him.

It did the man no good however.

Arlong, despite his rough demeanor and arrogant personality, was fiercely loyal and protective of his kinsmen - he saw them as superior beings after all, so seeing any of his kinsmen dragged to such a pitiful state as this child, it was infuriating.

He glared at the human with unrestrained contempt, fixing his grip so that he no longer held the humans shirt, but instead held the man by his scrawny neck - slowly Arlong began to squeeze the air from the man, taking a sick sort of satisfaction as he watched the life drain from the nobleman's eyes.

Slowly the nobleman's struggles began to abate as his air supply was cut off and his vision became dotted with black spots. His hands, which had been scrabbling uselessly against Arlong's massive wrist, fell limp as the life faded from his body.

Seeing that the old man was well and truly at his mercy, Arlong allowed a cruel smirk crawl across his face and with a simple flick of his wrist-

**_Snap!_ **

\- the old man's neck was broken.

Huffing in annoyance at the now useless body held within his grasp, Arlong turned and carelessly flung the corpse over the side of the ship, watching with mild satisfaction as the churning sea pulled the body beneath the waves.

With that mess out of the way and the valuables aboard the _Empress_ now within their clutches, Arlong turned his attention to the small boy - he looked him over; malnourished, skinny, weak.

The child was everything Arlong hated - but it couldn't be helped, he would just have to take the boy in and teach him to be strong.

"Bring the kid with us, we're leaving." He ordered, and was pleased to note that Hatchan was already moving toward the swaying plank of wood that connected the two ships together.

With the small boy now securely in their care and the loot being moved onto the _galleon_ Arlong found that he was tired of the sight of the small ship - thus he ordered his men to set sail, and once they were far enough away he let loose a barrage of cannon fire that sunk the _Empress_ and anyone left aboard.

"Alright men, let's get moving." He grinned, teeth flashing in the distant light as thunder clapped overhead.

They had places to be.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 

**Two months later…**

 

It was late afternoon.

The sun was hanging high overhead; golden rays fell down upon land, warming the earth of one of the many bustling coastal towns that littered the islands within the East Blue.

Within the busy town a young boy, no older than ten years of age, walked down the bustling street, a look of childish wonder etched upon his features as his gaze flickered from side to side

The child's name was Jett.

He had been wandering aimlessly the town for almost an hour now, completely oblivious to the odd looks he was receiving from the townsfolk - he was utterly unaware of how strange and out of place he must have looked in a town full of humans, after all, it wasn't every day they saw a fishman child.

But the looks and whispers didn't seem to bother Jett all that much - in fact, he barely paid the townsfolk any attention at all as he wandered the streets. No, he was more interested in the fascinating new sights that occupied the bustling town to care what a few humans might be saying about him.

This was the first time Jett had ever set foot into a town such as this. He had never seen a place so lively or loud in his short life, and so he was really quite enamored with the many new sights and sounds all around him.

Jett was a curious lad - he often questioned things he did not understand, and he liked to wander off exploring whenever the chance presented itself, which actually wasn't all that often.

In fact, that was how he'd ended up in the town.

The pirate crew he sailed with, led by his unofficial caretaker; Arlong, had docked on the other side of this small island a few short hours ago and of course, Jett had wasted no time in sneaking off to do a little exploring of the surrounding area.

Jett often liked to think of himself as something of an adventurer - every island they had stopped at so far had been absolutely teeming with a variety of new and exotic sights that he had never seen before.

It was exciting and new - an adventure just waiting to unfold.

Unfortunately for him however, it seemed that Arlong had deemed most of those particular islands as _too dangerous_ for such a young kid like him, and thus he was often left behind aboard the ship, usually under the supervision of Hatchi or Chew.

Why this had been decided he didn't understand - it wasn't like anyone would be stupid enough to mess with him, especially when he was traveling with the crew, yet Arlong had practically forbidden him from leaving the ship when they docked at a town or village; for his own safety, of course.

It had been like that for the past two months he'd been traveling with Arlong and the Fishman Pirates.

Unsurprisingly though, Jett was seriously starting to get _sick_ of it. As far as he was concerned, he didn't _need_ anyone looking after him. He wasn't a child and he didn't need a babysitter - plus he figured that he knew enough by now to take care of himself, and if that failed him then he was confident that he could at least outrun anything too dangerous.

That was why he'd snuck away as soon as he could - he was going to explore, and they weren't about to stop him.

It was also how he had stumbled upon the town he now found himself in.

Jett had been wandering the jungle, excitedly checking everything he came across, when he'd spotted the first sighting of the village - a small plume of smoke rising up high above the treetops.

Of course he'd gotten curious as to what could have caused the smoke, and so he'd made a beeline for the source, which after a good half hour of wandering around the jungle he'd finally located.

Another good half an hour later and there he was - wandering the streets of the town with wide eyed curiosity and a wide, toothy, grin plaster across his face.

He strode down the dusty street without any real destination in mind, there would be no point seeing as he didn't know anything about this island. Instead he merely wandered, stopping to look at all the different stalls selling a variety of goods - from carpets, to jewelry and clothing, he had even spotted a few stalls selling fresh foods.

It was all so fascinating.

But soon his attention was pulled away from the market stalls and to the side, where he saw something rather curious moving between the buildings of a small alleyway.

It was a man - or, he thought it was, Jett hadn't gotten a good look at the shadowy figure.

Curiosity piqued the young boy moved across the street and slipped into the alley without a sound. He moved down the side street at a steady pace, sunset colored eyes flickering left and right as he went.

Jett was not stupid - he may have been a child but he was also not without sense. He knew there could be possible danger lurking just around the corner, Arlong had lamented the fact that humans were often unpredictable and that they could be extremely dangerous, so Jett knew that he was going to have to be cautious.

But even with a possible threat of danger, it wasn't enough to put him off - he was curious by nature and the strange figure he had seen lurking around in the dim alleyway had caught his interest.

So onwards he went.

Step by step Jett slowly inched his way down the alley, moving forward until he came to a sharp bend at the end of the street. Pausing to peer around the edge of the wall, his eyes latched onto a flicker of movement, and he caught the tail end of someone's coat flickering out of sight at the end of the next bend.

With his target now in sight and his mind made up to follow the shadowed figure, Jett hurried to follow him. He kept his footfalls as silent as possible, skirting around various discarded and broken bottles, along with any other trash, as he darted down the alley. He kept one hand pressed down firmly over the leather satchel hanging down over his hip, keeping the bag from bouncing and making too much noise as he moved.

This went on for some time, the backstreets of the town were far larger than Jett had first thought, but he was not deterred by this fact at all, and kept following the strange figure - after all, Arlong had often said that shady looking people tended to have very important items on them.

So, maybe this man was hiding something of worth too?

Idly the young shark-boy wondered if Arlong would be proud of him if he came back with something like that - would he be praised for a job well done?

Jett hoped so. He also hoped that this man had something important with him - otherwise all he'd receive for his efforts would be an earful for sneaking off.

He didn't want that to happen.

Refocusing back on the matter at hand, Jett noticed that he was reaching the next bend in the street. He found his steps slowing down as the muffled sound of a nearby voice filled the still air, and it was only then that he noticed the distinct lack of noise around him - the bustling sounds from the town had faded to a dull hum in the background.

_I've gone pretty far… Maybe I should turn back._ He thought to himself, a flicker of hesitation welling up within him as he stood in the middle of the alley.

Hearing a noise from around the corner, the sound of knuckles rapping on wood, Jett quickly skittered to the nearby wall and crouched down - he peeked around the corner, eyes landing on the figure he had been following.

The man was well dressed; his clothes were obviously well made, and from what Jett could see poking out from beneath the stranger's coat, they were embroidered with fancy stitching. He was tall too, with a clean shaven face and neat brown hair framing an angular jawline.

All in all, this was the kind of man that seemed to screamed _wealth._

Jett had seen many men, and even a few women, like this in his short life - and from his own personal experience Jett had come to find that most, if not all of them, were arrogant bastards.

They usually had a lot of money too.

From his spot hidden at the corner, Jett watched on in growing curiosity as the man knocked on a small wooden door - his knuckles rapping a strange rhythm onto the wood.

_Tap, tap, tap-tap, tap._

It was an odd thing, Jett decided after a moment. Yet, much to his surprise the sound of a small grate opening could be heard and then the man was talking again - his voice low, and his gaze shifting side to side warily.

" _What do you want?"_

The sound of an unseen voice spoke in the ensuing silence, and Jett realized that this was probably the figure on the other side of the door speaking.

They sounded rather grouchy, sort of like how Kuroobi sounded when he was having a bad day, and Jett couldn't help but grin a little at the thought.

Shaking his head Jett focused back in on what was happening, and a good thing too for he might have missed the flash of something being shown to the man behind the door otherwise.

From where he was, Jett thought it looked like a rolled up piece of parchment.

"I'm here to see the boss." was the reply from the well dressed man, and Jett watched the figure as he stashed the item back into the pocket of his coat. "I have something I think he will be _most_ interested in seeing."

There was another beat of silence between the men, an unseen tension hanging heavy in the air, before the sound of a lock echoed through the empty alley and the door slowly swung inward.

The well dressed man didn't wait for an invitation before he moved forward and stepped quickly inside, disappearing from Jett's sight.

A frown slowly crawled its way over Jett's face as he stared at the now empty alley with a contemplative expression.

He found himself at a loss - that same flicker of hesitation from before was still curling within his chest. He was beginning to feel a little uneasy, and found that he was unsure of what to do now.

Of course the curiosity was still there, it had not faded in the slightest. Jett still wanted to know what the strange man was doing skulking around in the empty back streets, now more than ever, but he didn't know how to go about the next step - which would be to follow him inside.

This was something Jett had never done before - and to say that he wasn't feeling even the slightest bit nervous would be a lie.

_But… What if he has something really cool in there?_ He questioned himself, chewing nervously on his thumbnail as he debated on what to do.

On one hand, if the man had something of great value in his possession then Jett was sure that Arlong would want it - or at the very least he would want to know about it before they set sail and left the area.

But on the other, if he were to go snooping around and get caught then it could end very badly for him - no one knew where he was right now, and he was just a kid, he couldn't hope to go up against an adult and win.

So what to do…

"I… have no idea." He sighed to himself with an exasperated look on his features, raising one hand to rub at the back of his neck.

He didn't want to give up - that was not how adventurers were meant to act. They didn't give up when things got tough, and they certainly didn't back down from a challenge as far as he was aware…

Maybe he could do it.

Jett soon figured that it would be worth a try at any rate - if things went south, or if they got dicey, then he was sure he could get out of there if need be.

If not… Well, then he'd just have to hold out hope that _someone_ on the crew had enough sense to notice he was missing.

_The question now though; how am I going to get inside?_ He wondered, finally stepping out into the deserted alley and glancing around with narrowed eyes.

There was no chance of him getting in through the front door - even if he _could_ have snuck in that way, Jett wasn't game enough to try. The chances that he would be caught were just way too high, so it wasn't worth the risk.

But then how would he get in?

Moving down the alleyway Jett kept his gaze flickering across the building, seeking out anything that may help him in his self appointed quest.

The building was pretty average - a dark stone structure, like a lot of the buildings within the town, it was weathered and covered in signs of age and other muck.

There were a few window up on the second level, covered in thick curtains and a layer of dust, while the windows at ground level were boarded up and completely inaccessible.

It made Jett wonder just what was going on in that building and why it would be boarded up so much. As far as he knew, it wasn't normal for people to be skulking around in seemingly abandoned buildings like that - he remembered a few books that Kuroobi had given him, they were full of adventure and ohe remembered that during those stories it had always spelled trouble when someone entered such a shady place.

Then again, it was also meant that there was usually something of great worth waiting within for those brave enough to seek it out.

Jett fancied himself a brave man - so one way or another he was going to find a way into that building.

He just had to figure out how.

xxXXxx

A few miles away, back aboard the hulking form of the _galleon,_ Arlong stood within the captain's cabin - a mess of maps, paper, and sea charts scattered across the large desk in front of him.

He was pouring over the charts with an intensity that most would not think the large man capable.

Arlong was not a scholar - he was a warrior, a born fighter, and he always would be. Books and other such things held absolutely no interest to him, though he could understand the importance of them.

Even so, he was not without sense and Arlong was well aware of the need for such charts and maps - especially when one considered the forming plan he was in the process of constructing.

His plan was simple - total dominance of the East Blue.

It was an ambitious goal, perhaps even a little arrogant to think that one man could conquer an entire ocean. But then, Arlong liked to think that he was a rather ambitious person and he had a tendency to aim high.

He was however confident that, once the details were finalized and preparations were made, his plan would succeed.

Perhaps he was aiming too high - Jinbe had certainly thought he was, but then, Arlong didn't really care what the newly appointed Warlord may have thought.

He was a man with a plan and he knew what he wanted - which was to raise the Fishman species above the rest, to claim their rightful place as the rules of the seas.

The only thing holding him back, aside from the lack of a main base, was the irritating lack of accurate sea charts.

Oh sure he had a fair few maps compiled in his possession, he had started collecting them as soon as the idea had formed within his mind all those years ago - but they weren't _good enough_. They lacked in detail, and they were shoddily made - the charts in his possession didn't hold the precise information that Arlong needed most, and that irked him to no end.

It didn't help matters that none aboard his crew were adept navigators. Sure his men were pretty decent, he wouldn't settle for anything less, and they could sail the waters of Blue without fail.

His navigators were decent. If he were being generous he might even say that they were a little above average at best, but that wasn't _enough_. Arlong didn't want good, he wanted absolute _perfection._ He would settle for no less than that - his pride demanded it.

So he was stuck.

His plans were to rely heavily upon sea - thus he was going to need the _best_ sea charts money could buy, or steal if need be. Arlong had absolutely no qualms about getting his hands dirty to achieve his goals, he was a pirate after all.

The question was where to find them.

As far as he knew, there were no map makers with the skills and talent he needed to achieve his dreams - that was a problem, and it irritated him greatly knowing that his plans were stuck on hold until he could acquire the items he needed.

So there was little left for him to do now.

Actually, no. That wasn't quite true. There was something he could do in the meantime - aside from the obvious pirating and looting to gain the necessary funds he was sure to need, and that was finding an island to use as a home base.

It should be an easy task - the East Blue was known as the weakest of the four seas, so it shouldn't be too hard to find an island and take control of it.

It was just a matter of which islands he wanted.

For the last few months Arlong had been scouring the East Blue for the perfect location to construct the crown of his empire - Arlong Park.

That was why he had been studying the maps so intently as of late. Even if they were not perfect, they gave him at least _some_ idea of the surrounding lands.

It was also why they had been jumping from island to island - he, as well as his crew, had been scouting the local communities of East Blue in search of the perfect location, and though it was slow going, Arlong was confident that they would soon find what they were looking for.

Sitting back in his chair with a frown, Arlong stared down at the charts before him with growing annoyance. According to these, the next set of islands in their direct path were a small cluster of varying seaside villages known as the Conomi islands.

Rumor was that the marine presence in this part of the sea was low - it was a fact that drew Arlong's attention; if his plan was going to succeed then he would need to have control over the entire area, which would also mean having some measure of control over the marines in the area.

That also meant that Arlong would need to pick a spot that held a small marine presence - and so far these islands were sounding like a good bet, considering how everywhere else that he'd checked into had a larger marine presence.

_Maybe we'll get lucky._ He mused, running his fingers through his hair as he studied the map and more importantly - the landmass that was Conomi Islands.

Arlong was just starting to calculate the tactical position of the islands, and what use they could possibly be, when a commotion was heard outside.

At first he tried to ignore it - he had better things to do than figure out what had gotten them riled up _this_ time. But of course, that plan was soon shattered when a knock sounded at the door and the stoic form of Kuroobi entered the room shortly after.

"What is it?" He demanded, sounding just as annoyed as he looked.

To his credit, Kuroobi didn't so much as flinch under the hard stare. He was pretty used to it by now.

"The boy," he began, arms crossed over his chest and a look of exasperation clear up in his face. "He's missing."

That got Arlong's attention - he glanced up, an almost amuses glint in his gaze as he quirked his lips up into a faint smirk.

"Oh? Is that so." He mused, chuckling as he leant back in his chair. Surprisingly he wasn't the least bit annoyed by the news - quite the opposite in fact, he was _amused_ by it.

It honestly didn't come as much of a surprise to Arlong. The kid was getting bored - it was glaringly obvious, and who could blame the brat, they had kept him cooped up on the ship for almost two months now, it was a wonder that Jett hadn't snuck off earlier.

_The kid has spunk, I'll give him that._ The saw-nosed fishman mused, a toothy grin filtering onto his face as he threw his head back and laughed.

"I was wondering how long it would that before brat finally snapped." He chuckled, shaking his head.

Kuroobi, for his part, just stared at the captain with a look of mild confusion before it finally dawned on him - Arlong had known the kid would pull something like this.

"Should we look for him?" He asked after a few moments, trying not to notice that his captain seemed _pleased_ that the boy had successfully managed to sneak away from them.

Arlong shook his head. "No, let him be. He'll come back on his own time. Although, if he isn't back by tonight then we'll have to go find him - I want to set off soon." He replied, waving his comrade off.

Jett was not a stupid boy. Arlong knew that the kid wouldn't do anything that would potentially annoy him, the boy looked up to him as some kind of idol after all - a fact that never failed to amuse Arlong.

"As you say," Kuroobi nodded, accepting the order without complaint. "I'll keep an eye out for the brat." he added, knowing just how fond Arlong seemed of the boy - even if he was a pain in the ass.

With that settled he turned and left.

xxXXxx

Finding a way into the building had been a bit harder than Jett had originally anticipated, but somehow he'd found a way to make it inside - having to climb up to the second story, via the cracked and broken stonework, and through one of the broken windows.

It wasn't easy, he'd nearly fallen quite a few times in his attempt to scale the building, but he had somehow managed.

Now he was crouching in the upper levels of the building, hidden behind a stack of dust covered boxes as he listened for the sounds of anyone nearby. Thankfully though, he couldn't hear anyone and slowly he began to relax his tense muscles.

Sunset colored eyes flickered around the dim room he found himself in; he took in the thick layer of dust, a sure sign that no one really bothered with the upkeep, and the multitude of packed boxes and crates that took up most of the free space within.

Shifting from a crouch and standing to his feet the young shark-boy moved across the room to a nearby box. Reaching out he tugged at the corners of the box until the flaps folded back, and peeing inside the box with curiosity - it was full of books; dusty and old, probably a good few years old by the look of it. He left them as they were and moved on.

Moving on he continued to poke around the room with vary degrees of curiosity. A few boxes he passed held more dusty books and rolled pieces of paper - probably maps, he decided. But aside from that there wasn't really all that much within the room that seemed important, and soon enough Jett found himself wandering over to the door.

He leant forward and pressed his ear against the wood, listening carefully for any signs of movement beyond the door, but there was nothing.

_Good._ He thought to himself as he reached out to grab the door handle. As much as his curiosity called to him, Jett still felt a large amount of apprehension at sneaking into what he classed as _enemy territory_ all by himself.

Of course, it was a little too late to back out now that he was already inside. That being said, Jett was still very uneasy about being there - this was something he had never done before and he was, rightfully so, a little wary of what could happen.

_I'm a pirate though! I'm not scared of a little danger._ He nodded firmly, coaching himself as he pulled the door open and peered out into the hall - Jett glanced left and right, sunset coloured eyes roaming the area before he fully stepped out into the hall.

It was empty of course.

Like the room he had just exited, the hallway was dimly lit - however, despite the lack of light he could make out a few packed boxes stacked against the walls, and of course, the ever present layer of dust coating them.

Jett made a face. He rubbed at his nose while moving down the hall, trying to rid himself of the growing urge to sneeze as floating dust tickled his senses.

He had only gotten about halfway down the hall, having been checking each room as he went; though most of the doors turned out to be locked, when heavy footsteps sounded from somewhere ahead - and they were getting louder.

_Shit!_ He cursed, heart rate spiking as he glanced about frantically. He was caught in the open and the wouldn't end well if he was spotted.

Thinking fast he lunged for the nearest door and tugged - it was locked.

" _Dammit-_ " he hissed, biting his lip hard as he hurried forward to the next door, tugging at it urgently, while trying to ignore the fact that the footsteps were getting _closer._

Luckily for him the door swung open with little resistance and he wasted no time in lurching into the room - He snapped around and shut the door quickly, heart hammering in his chest as he flicked the lock and backed away with a fearful look as the footsteps grew louder and louder.

Jett held his breath. With his gaze locked onto the door and his entire body tense, he was ready to spring into action at the drop of a hat if need he. Tension coiled within his gut; twisting his insides into knots as he watched the door, ears straining to keep track of the approaching footsteps.

_One… Two… Three… Four… Five..._

For each second that ticked by the footsteps got closer, growing louder and louder. Jett backed away from the door, his shoulders tense and eyes glued to the handle - he was just _waiting_ for it to start jiggling.

But that never happened.

Jett was so riled up; shoulders hunched defensively and his body tense, that it took him a few seconds to realize that the footsteps were _receding._

He blinked, unable to believe his good luck as the sound of footsteps faded away. _That, was way too close…_ He thought to himself, the tension leaving his body as he slowly began to relax.

Jett took a step back, intending to take a look around the room he'd stumbled into, when he knocked into a table.

It seemed to happen in slow motion - one moment he was stepping back, his hip bumping into the corner of a table, and then in the next he was turning with wide eyes as a _very_ valuable piece of art wobbling dangerously atop the table.

" _Shit!"_ He cursed.

The model ship wobbled precariously and before Jett could even think to force himself into action, it tilted over to one side and toppled from its perch - heading right for the hard, unforgiving, floor below.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

 

It happened so fast.

Jett barely had time to even register that the beautiful looking model ship was falling before he found himself moving. With his arms outstretched, his expression morphing into one of utter horror, and body diving toward the spot he was sure it would land - Jett could only hope he'd reach it in time.

He felt his body hit the floor with a muffled _thump_ \- face pressed into the wooden floorboards and arms outstretched in a vain attempt to grab the beautiful figurine before it touched the ground.

_Fwump!_

A solid weight touched his hands and Jett instinctively curled his fingers around smooth wood and fabric; gripping onto it with a wide eyed look of absolute relief as his head snapped up and his gaze landed upon the small ship within his grasp.

He blinked once, twice, and then a third time before finally letting out a long breath he hadn't known he'd been holding.

To be honest, he didn't think he was going to make it in time.

"Holy shit…" He whispered, a slight lisp to his words as he spoke. Sunset colored eyes staring in disbelief at the fully intact ship perched within his hands. "...That was _way_ too close."

Shifting around a bit he pushed himself up onto his knees, the model ship held tight in his grip as he stood to his feet with a growing smile upon his face. He was ecstatic - barely able to believe that he'd caught it in time, yet proud that he _had_ caught it and kept his cool in the face of danger.

Jett couldn't _wait_ to tell Hatchan about this later.

_Oh…_

_Shit._

Bright eyes widening to almost comical proportions, it finally dawned on Jett that while he was having fun playing around and causing mischief, his caretaker was probably beside himself with worry - and despite how annoying the elder fishman could be, Jett really liked Hatchan; or Hatchi as he sometimes preferred to be called.

The guy was pretty cool, if a little bit weird, and he made some of the nicest food Jett had ever tasted before in his life.

But there was something else that made Jett freeze, a sense of unease creeping up his spine, and that was the fact that he really _wasn't_ meant to be here.

He had been far too distracted by his endless curiosity, the town, and the strangely dressed man to really bother noticing just how _long_ he'd been gone - but now that he had… well, Jett was starting to feel more than a little bit concerned.

A small part of him had to wonder just _how_ mad Arlong was going to be with him when he got back… If he got back that is, there was still a chance he could get caught. Which, he finally admitted, would probably only happen if he kept standing around like an idiot.

So he had a small problem.

The dilemma was that while Jett knew he had to leave, yet he also didn't want to go back empty handed, and considering that he hadn't found the strangely dressed man or what he was hiding either - Jett just couldn't find it in himself to leave yet.

It would be like he had failed and... Arlong didn't like failures.

Jett had to know why that oddly dressed human was acting so shady, and why he was sneaking around in back alleys - it was probably important, at least that's what Jett told himself.

So that meant he couldn't waste anymore time snooping around the rest of the house - he needed to focus. He needed to find the shady man, find what he was hiding, and then get the heck out of there before Arlong decided to leave him behind or he got himself caught… Whichever came first.

Then again… He _was_ a pirate now, at least, he figured he was. He did live on a pirate ship after all, and he did sail the sea with a notorious pirate crew. So, if he thought about it logically then that had to make him a pirate as well, even if unofficially - and the first thing he learnt about being a pirate was that being a pirate was that they were _free._

Which, logically, meant that he was free to do what he wanted when he wanted - and Jett really wanted to know what that man was hiding.

Nodding firmly Jett decided to continue his search - he really did want to know what the shady man was hiding, and if he found something cool then even _Arlong_ would be impressed.

With his course now decided Jett moved to place the model ship back onto the table it had originally fallen from-

-Only to trip over the corner of an upturned rug and go tumbling to the floor in a mass of flailing limbs.

In his mad flailing Jett had lost his grip upon the fragile ship in his grasp and while trying to keep his balance, had managed to latch onto a nearby piece of furniture - unfortunately all that had done was bring down the pile of boxes atop the table with him as he fell.

**_Crash!_ **

_"_ _Fuck!"_ The curse left his lips before he could stop it and idly Jett was glad no one was around to hear him swearing - Hatchan would have his _head_ if the six-armed man heard that kind of language coming from his mouth.

Jett groaned as he slowly pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, shaking his head to clear it while pushing a large box away from himself. That had _hurt_.

Blinking once the young fishman child stared at the mess of boxes and broken glass scattered around the room with a sense of growing apprehension - there was _no_ _way_ no one had heard that crash.

"Son of a bit- hello, what's that…"

Head cocked to one side in interest, Jett reached out to pull the remnants of the model ship from beneath a stack of books; looking mildly upset that the beautiful ship was destroyed.

The expression of distress upon his face was soon replaced however when he took note of something _strange_ wedged firmly within the frame of the wooden model - something small and shiny.

Tugging the broken ship into his lap Jett wasted no time in investigating the strange object hidden inside the body of the wooden vessel - he twisted and turned the broken frame within his hands, trying to reach the small item and tug it loose, but found that it was firmly stuck.

A frown marred his features, definitely _not_ a pout, and Jett glared at the broken ship in his hands as he debated on how to open it up so he could get a better look at what was hidden inside - but of course, he didn't have any tools with him right now and the thing was really stuck tight.

Jett gave up on trying to pry the mystery item free after another few failed attempts to jiggle it loose, instead opting to shove the remnants of the model ship into his satchel to be poked and prodded at a later date - preferably when he wasn't smack dab in the middle of hostile territory.

_Right, focus. I still have a mission to complete… I hope no one heard that…_ He chuckled to himself, rubbing the back of his neck as he cast a nervous glance toward the door.

So far it seemed like no one had cottoned on to the fact that he was there, or heard the sudden noise he'd caused. If he could help it Jett wanted to try and keep it that way too, it would be too much hassle if they found him now - he hadn't even found that weird guy, and that was the whole reason he was there.

_Focus._ He chided, shaking his head and pushing himself up to his feet.

Jett glanced about himself, taking in the small remnants of the broken figurine he'd dropped before slowly picking his way around the splintered wood and other mess, shuffling his way through the mess and to the door.

He pressed his ear to the wood, senses straining as he listened for any abnormal sounds in the hallway.

Jett didn't hear anything - which was a good sign, it meant that no one knew he was there yet.

Adjusting the strap of his satchel the young boy reached out with a hand and pulled the door open, just enough for him to slip through the gap, before shutting it and sneaking off further into the building.

He had checked most of the upstairs rooms already - most of the doors having been locked and thus out of his reach, so he decided to head downstairs.

It wasn't hard to find the stairs, nor was it all that difficult to sneak down them. Though, they were rather old and more than once Jett had felt the sudden jolt of fear as he stepped upon a particularly creaky step.

Yet he remained unnoticed.

This was a very good thing and Jett certainly wasn't about to complain about his newfound luck, so he continued onward.

As he snuck about the house, he had come across quite a few loose trinkets, things such as; gold coins, fancy necklaces, and even one or two gemstones. All of which he had quickly snatched up and placed within the pockets of his satchel.

He'd gathered up quite the collection too, much to his delight, and Jett couldn't keep the wide grin from making its way across his face as he snuck from the large dining room - he was halfway out the door when something in the corner of his eye caught his attention.

Jett paused, stepping back into the room with his head cocked to one side as he stepped over to the back wall and stared at the rather ugly tapestry hung there.

It wasn't the tapestry that had caught his attention though, no, it was the way it _moved_ that had Jett pausing - because as far as he knew there was no breeze within the musty old building, so it should be moving at all.

Reaching out his hand grasped at the corner of the heavy fabric and pulled it back. "Holy shit…" He breathed, eyes wide and full of wonder as he stared at the single door hidden behind tapestry.

He blinked once then felt a grin curl the corners of his lips, one of his large canine teeth peeking out. This… This was the kind of thing he was looking for, a _hidden_ door. How cool was that.

Jett didn't waste time - he stepped fully behind the curtain of heavy fabric and grasp the handle of the door; it turned easily, giving just a small squeak of protest, before it swung inward and he was rewarded with the sight of a long and darkened hallway.

"So _cool~_ " he beamed, almost bouncing on his feet as he strained his eyes to see further into the darkness.

Of course he couldn't see anything aside from the inky blackness but that was alright because Jett had already decided - he was _definitely_ going to investigate this hidden passage.

So he did.

He stepped forward and into the hallway with barely any hesitation at all. The tapestry fell back into place as he released it and suddenly he was swamped in total darkness.

_Okay, let's see where this goes…_ He grinned to himself, one hand outstretched to run across the smooth surface of cool stone - a far cry from the wooden walls that made up the rest of the house.

Curiosity piqued, Jett moved forward.

The hall seemed to go on forever - and the more he walked the more Jett wondered about it. Why was it there? What purpose did it serve? Was he still in the same building? He didn't think so, he'd been walking for quite some time after all and dare he say it - it seemed like he'd been walking _downwards_ , as though moving down a small incline.

It was weird and kind of creepy, but he didn't stop moving.

Soon enough he saw a small glint of light ahead of him and Jett had to blink a few times to make sure his eyes weren't messing with him.

He jogged forward, coming to kneel down so that he was resting against the wall. Creeping closer to the small flicker of light, Jett could finally make out the outline of a single hatch-like door that marked the end of the hall.

_Odd._ He thought, because there had been nothing else in the hall since he'd started walking down it.

Jett stole a quick glance behind himself, ears straining to pick up the sound of any oncoming footsteps. Thankfully he heard nothing. Turning his attention back to the door that was left slightly ajar, the young boy reached out to pull it open just a little - enough that he could peer through it.

Eyes blinking to adjust to the sudden light, Jett found himself looking at what could only be a tunnel - it was structured with wooden beams and supports, the flickering light of torches casting shadows upon the ground.

_"_ _Awesome…"_ he breathed, a look of awe upon his face as he stared at what must have been a hidden base of some kind.

It was the only way he could think to describe it that made sense to him. After all, how many buildings had _secret_ hallways hidden behind ugly paintings that were frequented by shady looking people? Not many he was sure.

Shifting forward Jett tugged the hatch open and slipped through it, dropping down to the dirt floor below with a muffled _thump,_ dust kicking up around him as he landed.

Crouched low to the floor the boy flicked his gaze left and right, senses on sharp alert for any abnormal sounds - but he saw nothing and heard nothing.

Content that he was alone Jett stood up slowly and looked around. The tunnel wasn't all that large he noticed, maybe enough for two grown men to walk down shoulder to shoulder. It was just as tall too, he guessed.

"Nice, now… Which way should I go?" He wondered aloud, head turning left and right as he debated on which path to take.

In the end he decided to flip a coin and once it was decided he moved off to explore.

 

xxXXxx

 

Back aboard the ship Hatchan was pacing the deck with an expression of worry etched upon his face.

He was concerned for Jett - the kid had been missing for just over three and a half hours now, and there still hadn't been any sign of the boy.

It was worrying.

Especially to Hatchan because he'd sort of taken it up in himself to look after the little kid as an unofficial caretaker. As far as he was concerned the kid was his responsibility, and now that Jett was _missing_ , well, Hatchan was feeling more than a little uneasy.

The others thought he was overreacting - but they didn't get it, so Hatchan didn't try to explain just why he was worried.

How could they understand? None of them had been the ones to nurse the small child back to health. None of them had sat by the boy's bedside, helping him eat and keeping him company - they weren't the ones who had spent the most time with the kid, so how could they ever hope to understand just why he was so worried?

They couldn't - but he didn't blame them.

"I'm sure he's alright…" He told himself as he paced around the deck, his many arms crossed over his large chest.

"You worry too much, _chu~_ " that had come from Chew, the only one on the crew who wasn't rolling their eyes or telling him to get a grip.

Hatchan paused, his gaze shifting to look at his fellow fishman with an almost sheepish smile, one hand coming up to rub at the back of his neck.

"I know, i'm sorry. I can't help it. He's never wandered off like this before and he's been missing for _hours_ now - what if something happened to him?" came the reply as Hatchan fiddled with his fingers, poking them together as he stared out into the forest.

Chew, for his part, merely sighed and ran a hand through his dirty blonde hair. He knew that Hatchan was fond of the kid, it was pretty damn obvious and it wasn't like the six-armed man did anything to hide his fondness of the child either.

Still, it was a little annoying to have to watch Hatchan pace a hole in the deck because he was worried over the brat.

But what could they do? Arlong wasn't worried about the brat, most of the others didn't give a shit either, yet Hatchan did - it was troublesome.

"Ugh, alright how about we do look for the brat?" Chew suggested, mentally kicking himself even as he made the offer - because he _didn't_ care about the kid, but he did care about his friend, and Hatchan cared for the little brat so it was the only logical thing he could think of to keep his friend happy.

Of course, Hatchan was rather pleased with the suggestion. The six-armed man nodded his head rapidly, a smile on his face.

"Oh yes, that's a great idea! Let's go search for him!" He nodded with an enthusiastic grin, and already Hatchan was moving to the side of the ship so he could drop down to the sandy shore below.

Chew just sighed and followed after him.

 

xxXXxx

 

"Jeez, how big is this place?"

Jett had been walking for what felt like ages now. In reality it was probably somewhere between five to ten minutes, but a child's perspective had a way of exaggerating such things.

Either way, his feet were getting sore and even Jett's stomach was starting to grumble. When was the last time he'd eaten? Ah yes, at breakfast time just before he'd wandered off to explore. No wonder he was starting to feel hungry - he'd gone practically a whole day without eating.

Still, the hunger didn't bother him. Jett was used to going without food, and even though was getting better - he still didn't eat a lot. But that was beside the point, and Jett was far more annoyed with the tunnel than he was with his stomach.

He'd flipped a coin and had gone left, but ever since he hadn't found any sight of anything interesting aside from rocks, and dirt, and more dumb rocks.

All in all - he was getting bored.

"Dammit… Maybe I should just go back." He sighed, rubbing at his neck while glancing back the way he'd come.

He didn't want to go back. There was still so much he had left to explore, yet this tunnel was going on _forever_ and there was nothing interesting in there at all - so it wouldn't be that much of a waste if he turned back.

Granted, he still hadn't found that shady looking man either and that was bugging Jett more than anything.

It was like he'd just disappeared.

It was a mystery.

One that Jett still wanted to unravel - but he was tired, and hungry, and his feet were starting to really hurt. It was getting to the point where all he wanted to do was just sit down and rest, but he couldn't do that, not while he was in such a potentially dangerous place and stuck underground.

So he trudged onward.

He walked down the dimly lit passage for another few minutes, idly kicking a small rock as he went, before a sudden sound ahead caused him to panic and dive for cover behind one of the wooden support beams - flattening himself against the rocky wall as much as he could.

Jett stayed like that for a few moments; heart hammering away against his chest, and eyes wide with shock at the close call - which came when the sound of heavy footsteps echoed throughout the tunnel.

_Oh snap…_

Sunset eyes peered around the edge of the wooden beam he was hidden behind and Jett spotted the form of a large man shuffling his way down the path, what was more, he looked to be pulling a cart behind him.

Shifting back as the large man free near, Jett pressed himself as far back against the wall as he could go - ignoring the way the rocks jutted out and dug into his back. He even went so far as to hold his breath as the man came closer and closer to his hiding spot.

_One, two, three, four, five…_

Jett counted each step within his mind and soon enough the man was parallel to him. The young boy tensed, eyes squeezing shut as he curled his fingers into the rock behind him.

The footsteps continued onwards though. They never once stopped or faltered, it was like the guy had no idea he was there - and really, that was probably the only thing that saved Jett from being found out.

No one _expected_ him to be there - and if they didn't expect someone to be there then it was not hard to think that they would overlook a tiny shadow hidden against the wall.

_Lucky, way lucky… Holy shit._ He let out a long breath as the bulky man shuffled off down the passage and out of sight.

Shaky legs giving way, Jett slumped to the floor in utter relief, his heart still hammering against his chest as he tried to calm down because for him, that had been completely terrifying.

He sat there for a moment or two. One hand clamped down upon his shirt, right above his heart, in some meager attempt to calm himself down. He did manage to calm down, and soon enough he was pushing himself back to his feet and hurrying off down the passage once more.

Only this time with a little more urgency.

Jett walked on for another few minutes. He kept his eyes and ears open to any out of place sounds, but as he walked the only thing that Jett noticed was the slight breeze wafting through the tunnel - which was odd because he was currently _underground_.

Moving forward it didn't take long for Jett to find the source of the strange breeze, and once he had the young boy felt his eyes wide in awe at the sight before him.

It was an underground _hideout_.

The whole thing was simple yet still equally amazing to him - built inside a large cave there were various wooden structures lining the walls, walkways and ladders joining them together. The middle of the cavern was submerged in water and in within the calm waters there rested a large ship.

"Whoa…" He breathed out, amazement coloring his tone as he took it all in with widened eyes.

It was then that a flicker of movement caught his attention and Jett turned his gaze to the side only to grin widely at what he saw - it was the strangely dressed man.

"Gotcha~" he grinned, watching as the man made his way across the many walkways and down towards the large ship before disappearing below deck.

Shifting his bag on his shoulder the young boy then cast his gaze around. He could hear the sound of voices, obviously part of the ship's crew, or so he figured. Jett realized he'd have to be careful now, sneaking inside an empty house was one thing - but now there were people, and they probably wouldn't think twice about killing some random kid like him.

_Okay, time to see what this guy is hiding…_

With that thought in mind Jett dropped into a crouch, took a calming breath, and began his self-appointed mission to uncover the secrets of the shady man.


End file.
